Tutani Mugavazi

Tutani Mugavazi was born in 1975 in Guruve, northern Zimbabwe. He is the second in a family of eight. At primary school, his favourite lessons were art and craft. In the school holidays, he would visit his uncle Francis Mugavazi, a well-known sculptor, where he learned to sculpt. At twelve, Tutani had his first customers; by thirteen, Tutani’s father realised his son’s talent and bought him his first tools, and later introduced him to Tom Blomefield, founder of the Tengenenge Sculpture Community.

While still at secondary school, Tutani’s pieces had been displayed in the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. So, when he left school in 1992, he went straight to being a sculptor. His joint exhibition with his uncle Luke Mugavazi in 1993 marked the start of his career as a professional sculptor.